Wednesday, September 22, 2010

A tornado warning was just announced over the PA system (I am in Ohio) and everyone has been advised to go into a conference room or the stairwell. I'll repel down the side of the building before I find shelter in a stairwell again.

Ever the optimist, I'm headed to the airport.

The flight I am on is delayed. I work a little of my Jamie travel magic (got United to release the ticket to US Airways) and when I left C-bus there was a rainbow in the sky.If you can find the Hyatt in the background look for Helen and Elita having some drinks at Big Bar on Two.

I'm in DC now. I don't want to jinx my good luck so far. Two hour layover. But I just had a Five Guys Burger so all is well.

Friday, September 17, 2010

This is me laid over in CLT. This is the shortest flight of the many I have taken yet it is the biggest plane I've been on, by far - window and Aisle seats are not one in the same. We sit on the runway for such a long time I wonder if just taxi-ing on I-40 towards Durham in this jumbo jet would get me home any sooner.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Once upon a time there was a trivia team named "Team Tourette's X#@#$@ Bob Saget."Tir Na Nog fired our favorite waitress. Trivia host started asking repeat questions.The food was never very good.And that was the end of that.We found another trivia night at Ruckus in Cary with better food and that held us over for a while but was never quite the same.And that was the end of trivia. While I readily admit to being both a geek and a creature of habit I was kind of over trivia night having done it almost weekly for over a year but there were fun times. Birthdays especially.

So, in honor of Bob Sageter Mary's Birthday (9.14.10) the team revisited Tir Na Nog (9.15.10). I wasn't there so not sure it it was more of a "Sex In The City II" sequel versus "The Empire Strikes Back" kind of night.

I was in Ohio, weary, so I celebrated by ordering dessert from room service. Happy Birthday Mary!Oh, and the thing with all the geometric designs on the cheesecake. Edible.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

I spend a lot of time going back and forth between 9 and 28 and usually allow a good solid 10 minutes for that commute because it's a bit like try to across town in Manhattan but more complicated. I've never been to 38 but it was an important meeting so I gave myself a solid 20.

I arrive at 38 and am told to go to 37 and then walk up the staircase to 38. Which doesn't really make sense because I'm already on 38 but I this building doesn't make sense so I make my way to 37 via the stairwell because I'm not actually sure if you can get from 38 to 37 because of the whole even odd thing.

I'm in the stairwell and go to open the door to 37. Which is locked. But wait! I have my badge. But apparently my badge does not give me access to 37. So I go back up to 38. My badge got me to the 38 floor via elevator but not via stairwell.

If you're following you've realized that I am locked in the stairwell. And 20 minutes is almost up. This is an extremely disconcerting feeling but fortunately I have my iPhone. Unfortunately there's only 10% battery and I wonder if this is how people in jail who are only allowed to make one call feel.

I txt message my co-workers but am not hopeful I'll get rescued as the meeting has already started and I doubt they are looking at their phones and even if they were I'm not integral enough to this meeting to send anyone out of the room to retrieve me.

I walk back up to 38 just in case the door changed it's mind about me and notice an intercom. Hooray! I press the button, speak into it. What I get back is about as audible as a McDonalds drive through. I state my case and wonder if it sounds the same to them. And even if we could understand each other if my badge doesn't give me access perhaps security won't either (presuming that is who is on the other end of the line).

I consider using my remaining iPhone battery to play "Words With Friends" because getting to this meeting is starting to feel like a lost cause and I would very much welcome a distraction from the fact that I'm trapped in the stairwell of a very big building on a very high floor and to say nothing of missing a meeting I had very much wanted to attend.

I hear someone in the distance and am not sure if I should be frightened or relieved. Maybe the stairwell is like a deserted island and we'll start our own little colony. Lost: Columbus. I figure whoever this person is had to come from somewhere and hope I will be led to the rabbit hole out of here. Or that this person will have a more powerful badge than I do. Turns out this person came from 1 or 2. This is his cardio. Stairs. If I weren't wearing high heels and a sweater set I might consider this an option, especially beause it's down 38 flights of stairs.

In the end, I only had to walk down three flights of stairs to get out of the stairwell and the elevator system eventually did get me to 38. About 20 minutes late and a little disoriented.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Here we are at Franconia FallsI had all sorts of North Carolina summer outfits to sport. Ended up having to borrow warm clothes of assorted sizes from the family. Emily stuff too little. Dad stuff gigantic. Teri stuff to tall. It was a fun trip (you know, with the usual mixed in family drama moments) but now that we're not on the lake there's no boat or water ski competition with Teri. Also, I write Foehl Family above but that's not all of us. These visits usually work best with some combination of Foehls but all of us. A little much.

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

For a number of reasons I make it a point not to write about work too much on my blog. Right now, however, work feels a little like life and I feel a little bit like writing about it and believe I can do so without crossing any lines.

My work assignment through the end of the year involves me working on "the Client side" while also keeping my hand in some agency projects as well. Fortunately, I'm not working both sides of the same projects. That would just be talking to myself, right? I do have two email accounts (and two computers with identical hardware) so I could send myself stuff. I was trying to schedule an appointment tonight and I ended the conversation with "let me check my calendars."

It's a little disorienting. For whatever reason every single time I leave my hotel room I want to turn right even though the elevator will always be to the left. I've actually asked to be booked in this same room for all visits through the end of the year. I'll consider it a milestone when I turn left without hesitation. Or maybe I'll just put an arrow on the door. Or listen to more Beyonce.

The client site is very different from my agency. It's different in that nothing is different and there were a few too many moments today where I just wasn't sure where I was (the floors look the same, the quadrants within the floors look the same, that sort of thing). And, it's also hard to know where I'm going with an elevator system that makes me consider climbing 11 flights of stairs to get to my desk.

There's a movie theater off the hotel playing "Inception" just in case things start to feel a little normal.